Qi Shu’s impersonation of her cousin at the academy was eventually discovered.
Her unreliable cousin, An Xu, got into an argument while cockfighting with a merchant’s son and injured him. When the merchant brought his son to demand an explanation, Prefecture Governor An realized his son hadn’t been attending the academy and had been roaming outside all along.
An Xu was dragged back by his father, and naturally, Qi Shu’s impersonation at the academy could no longer be concealed.
As Qi Shu was a princess, Prefecture Governor An, despite being her uncle, didn’t dare disrespect her. He sent someone to inform Empress Dowager An, who was still worshipping Buddha at Guangling Temple. It was the old nanny from Empress Dowager An’s side who personally went to the academy to “invite” Qi Shu back.
After such an incident, Prefecture Governor An naturally felt too embarrassed to let his son continue studying at the academy. For the sake of the academy’s reputation, it was announced that An Xu had voluntarily withdrawn.
When Qi Shu was “invited” onto the carriage by her mother’s nanny, just as the carriage was about to leave the academy, she, who had been quiet and cooperative the entire way, suddenly jumped off the carriage and ran straight towards the Imperial Library, lifting her skirts.
The maids and guards tried to chase after her, but unfamiliar with the academy’s layout, they couldn’t catch up immediately.
The old nanny sent by Empress Dowager An was Qi Shu’s wet nurse. Knowing her temperament, she finally sighed: “Let her go.”
Qi Shu had never run so fast before. The air she breathed in stung her lungs, but she didn’t dare stop for a moment.
She thought, even if she could see him one last time, it would be enough. At least, let him know that she was the girl who had played chess with him at the Wind and Rain Corridor Pavilion.
If she left like this, unclear and uncertain, she would probably regret it for the rest of her life.
Today was a day off, and the academy had given students a day’s holiday. Some students had gone out, while others stayed at the academy. On the main road leading to the classrooms and the Imperial Library, people passed by from time to time. When they saw the young girl in a crimson silk dress rushing by urgently, they all stopped and stared, entranced.
There were many beauties in Jiangnan, but rarely did one see a beauty as bright as a pearl and as radiant as the glow of sunset. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the mountains and rivers seemed to clothe her.
Qi Shu went straight into the Imperial Library, brushing past people as she rushed up the wooden stairs, saying “excuse me” countless times. Not a single student she bumped into showed any anger; instead, they looked dazed, as if afraid they were hallucinating from too much reading.
Qi Shu had no time to care about these things. When she finally climbed to the seventh floor’s elegant room, she was already out of breath. She knocked on the door and urgently called out the name she had rolled over her tongue countless times: “Gong Sun Yin…”
Her voice stopped abruptly. The man in white was still sitting by the window where he usually read and played chess, but this time he was writing something with an ink brush.
When he saw her, he looked up with a faint smile: “I was thinking that after I finished copying this chess manual, I could have someone deliver it to the An residence. I didn’t expect you to come in person.”
His calmness made Qi Shu pause: “You… you knew my identity all along?”
Gong Sun Yin’s brush tip hesitated slightly, and he answered: “I only learned of your identity today.”
The last word he wrote had a small ink blot, but he finished writing nonetheless. Gong Sun Yin put down his brush, picked up the paper, and shook it to dry the ink: “I knew you were a young lady, but I didn’t know you were the current princess.”
For some reason, Qi Shu felt a lump in her throat. She asked, “Then did you know that the one playing chess with you at the Wind and Rain Corridor Pavilion in Guangling Temple was also me?”
Gong Sun Yin looked at her and smiled very gently: “I knew.”
With just these words, a tear suddenly fell from Qi Shu’s eye, spreading a small wet mark on the wooden floor.
Gong Sun Yin folded the completed chess manual and handed it to her, but she didn’t take it. She only stubbornly looked at him with her teary eyes: “I came to this academy for someone.”
Gong Sun Yin lowered his eyes slightly, remaining silent without responding.
At that moment, an enormous sense of grievance suddenly welled up in Qi Shu’s heart. She was a princess, born to have everything she wanted, and had never tasted the bitterness of rejection.
In the end, she didn’t even take the few pages of the chess manual. With red eyes, she ran away without looking back.
A month later, before she and Empress Dowager An set out to return to the capital, she received a letter sent from Luyan Academy to the An residence. Inside were those few pages of the chess manual.
No one knew how many tears she had shed in the quiet of the night, holding that chess manual.
…
Coming back from her memories, Qi Shu looked at the rain lines flying under the eaves and suddenly smiled bitterly.
She had been trapped by that chess manual for so many years. She had already returned the manual to him through A’yu, and it was time for her to move on-
In the blink of an eye, it was June. Empress Dowager An had summoned the Shen family’s old madam to the palace to talk several times, and the Shen family seemed willing to take a princess as a daughter-in-law.
When Qi Shu accompanied Empress Dowager An to the summer palace to escape the heat, the arranged accompanying general was Shen Shen.
Shen Shen had a point very similar to Gong Sun Yin; he also liked to smile. But it wasn’t like Gong Sun Yin’s smile that made people feel as if basking in spring sunshine yet always at ease. Rather, it was a smile of genuine cheerfulness.
Whenever he smiled, it only made people feel his sincerity and warmth. It seemed that deceiving such a person would be a sin.
Qi Shu often felt that his personality was very similar to Fan Chang Yu’s, even though they weren’t siblings, they were as close as siblings.
At the summer palace, he often led the guards to the nearby mountains to hunt pheasants or catch fish from wild streams, bringing them back for the kitchen staff to prepare delicious meals.
To promote their relationship, Empress Dowager An often wanted Qi Shu to go along, but Qi Shu disliked the sun, found the mountain paths difficult to walk, and hated sweating, so she always refused.
Empress Dowager An had no way with her. Finally, hearing that there would be a lantern festival at the Qixi Festival, she had Shen Shen escort Qi Shu to see it.
The lantern festival was crowded, and Qi Shu, in her luxurious attire, was unwilling to squeeze into the streets. Instead, she rented a painted boat to watch the Qixi lantern scenery and the young men and women releasing river lanterns from afar.
Qi Shu was somewhat listless throughout, and Shen Shen, accompanying her on the side, spoke very little. Both felt uncomfortable.
Out of courtesy, Qi Shu reluctantly stood with Shen Shen at the bow for a while. As she was about to return to the cabin, a chorus of exclamations suddenly rose from the girls on both banks. Qi Shu looked up and saw a small boat drifting from the distant water surface. The boatman was pushing a long pole at the stern, while a figure like an immortal stood at the bow.
White clothes, ink-black hair, holding a folding fan, with a hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. On this riverside with fading lights, he seemed to have stepped out of a painting.
When Qi Shu recognized the arrival, her breath caught slightly.
According to Great Yin’s customs, on the day of Qixi, young men and women could throw flowers to express their feelings to those they admired.
As Gong Sun Yin’s small boat passed by the shore, the young women on the bank vied to throw flower branches at him. However, due to the distance, most fell into the water, with only a few scattered flowers landing on the boat.
Gong Sun Yin didn’t pick them up, only slightly bowing with cupped hands towards the shore as a greeting.
The girls on the shore exclaimed again, their pretty faces blushing red, eagerly asking which family’s young man he was.
Qi Shu watched quietly, feeling a bit bitter in her heart, but eventually, everything returned to calmness. As she was about to turn away, she heard from afar: “This humble official pays respects to the Princess.”
The voice carried by the night wind was gentle and refined.
Qi Shu raised her eyes to look at the small boat approaching the painted boat.
The person standing at the bow bowed elegantly to her, his wide sleeves and the hem of his clothes fluttering in the night wind, making him appear even more ethereal.
Qi Shu nodded slightly and replied coolly: “Junior Preceptor.”
The small boat drew even closer, and Gong Sun Yin took out a peony flower, white with a hint of pink, from his sleeve. He bowed and offered it to Qi Shu: “I heard that on Qixi, one can give flowers to their beloved. Yin boldly offers this to the Princess.”
Qi Shu looked at the beautiful peony in his hand for two breaths, and finally just smiled and said: “The Junior Preceptor is too late. I have already received flowers from General Shen.”
With that, she let her maid support her as she went to the cabin. Shen Shen was stunned for a moment, looking at Gong Sun Yin standing still at the bow holding the flower. Finally, he only coughed dryly: “Well… Brother Gong Sun, excuse me.”
Gong Sun Yin’s lips still held that hint of a smile, only now it looked a bit lonely. He nodded slightly to him and said: “It is Yin who has intruded.”
As the small boat drifted away, when Shen Shen lifted the curtain to enter the painted boat, he saw a hint of tears in Qi Shu’s eyes. Noticing his entrance, she hurriedly wiped the corner of her eye with a handkerchief.
Shen Shen sat down opposite Qi Shu and said: “Shen is being presumptuous, but I did not prepare any flowers, nor did I think of giving flowers to the Princess.”
His words were indeed somewhat impolite. The palace maid beside Qi Shu was about to rebuke him, but he continued: “I know the Princess came boating today at the Empress Dowager’s wish. Shen is just a rough military man, without much refinement. The Princess being with Shen is indeed a bit of a waste.”
Qi Shu hurriedly said: “General Shen, please don’t belittle yourself. I came here today of my own will.”
Shen Shen Shust looked at Qi Shu and smiled: “Shen is a rough person, so I’ll speak without finesse. I hope the Princess won’t mind. I have a sister whose personality is similar to the Princess’s. Watching the Princess quarrel with the Junior Preceptor is like watching my sister. Although I don’t know what misunderstanding exists between the Princess and the Junior Preceptor, marriage is a big matter and shouldn’t be decided in a moment of anger.”
Qi Shu shook her head, holding back the sourness creeping up her nose, “I’m not acting out of anger.”
Shen Shen sighed softly: “If the Princess had truly let go, you wouldn’t be so upset.”
After their boat trip to Qixi, Qi Shu and Shen Shen’s relationship improved considerably, but it had nothing to do with romance. For someone so similar to Fan Chang Yu, Qi Shu treated him more like an elder brother.
Empress Dowager An didn’t know about this and was very pleased to see progress in their relationship.
As autumn approached, urgent news came from the northern border again. The throne of Great Yin had changed hands, and the Marquis of Wu’an, who had been guarding the border, returned to the capital to assist the young emperor. The Beiyue people saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and harassed the Great Yin civilians near Jinzhou several times. War was imminent.
Qi Yu was still young, and without Xie Zheng’s presence in the capital, the court would surely be in chaos. After discussions at court, they first sent Great General Tang Peiyi of the Western Pacification to lead troops to the northern border, with Great General Fan Chang Yu of Huaihua following later with supplies.
Upon receiving the news, Qi Shu and Empress Dowager An hurried back to the palace.
Fan Chang Yu couldn’t take Chang Ning with her to the northern border for this war. When Chang Ning heard she would be separated from her elder sister for a year or more, she clung to her waist and cried like a little tearful dumpling.
Fan Chang Yu promised to send letters back every month by sea eagle before she could comfort the little tearful dumpling.
Yu Qianqian knew that Xie Zheng had numerous matters to deal with and probably couldn’t spare much thought to take care of Chang Ning. She proposed to bring Chang Ning into the palace, and Madam Zhao was also granted permission to enter the palace.
Two days before Fan Chang Yu left the capital, Chang Ning was still crying intensely. Whenever Qi Shu had time, she would go to Ci’ning Palace to help comfort the child.
Occasionally, Qi Yu was also there. Perhaps children’s hearts connect more easily; he always had ways to comfort Chang Ning.
That porcelain doll of a girl, her grape-sized eyes had swollen to the size of walnuts. Rubbing her eyes pitifully, she asked: “When will Teacher Gong Sun come back to teach? Sister told Ning’er to study hard before she left. Ning’er wants to listen to Sister…”
As she spoke, she began to sniffle again. Tears seemed to flow endlessly from her big black eyes, starting to well up again. She clumsily wiped them with her chubby hands, a heartbreaking sight.
Qi Yu said: “Teacher Gong Sun is ill. He’s been forcing himself to attend court meetings these days despite his illness. Once he’s better, he’ll come to Chongwen Hall to teach.”
Qi Shu, who had just finished wiping Chang Ning’s tears, suddenly tightened her grip on the silk handkerchief and asked: “The Junior Preceptor is ill?”
Qi Yu nodded and said: “The teacher has been ill for over a month now. Even the imperial physicians couldn’t cure him.”
On the way back from Ci’ning Palace, Qi Shu was lost in thought. Her heart, which had been quiet for so long, suddenly became restless again.
Over a month? Counting back, it was right after Qixi that he fell ill.
How could he have fallen ill? Was it from the river wind on that day?
In the following days, whenever Qi Shu had free time, she would go to Ci’ning Palace to play with Chang Ning. Chang Ning had a very good memory. Even if she was momentarily distracted by the new toys Qi Shu brought, as soon as she turned around and couldn’t find her, the little dumpling would sit on the steps in the courtyard, her lotus root-like elbow propped on her knee, chubby palm supporting her chin, looking up at the sky with her head full of little pigtails.
Occasionally, when she saw a hawk fly by, her eyes would sparkle. But upon realizing it wasn’t a sea eagle, her little face would darken again.
She was even so sensible that she didn’t cry in front of people anymore. Only occasionally when she woke up in the morning or from her afternoon nap, as if she hadn’t remembered that her elder sister had gone to war and wouldn’t return for a year or more, when she did remember, golden beads of tears would suddenly well up in her eyes. But before anyone could notice, she would secretly wipe them away herself.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the grass-covered plains, Qi Shu genuinely cared for this child. She gifted her all the childhood trinkets she had kept in her palace chambers.
Due to her frequent visits, she often heard news of the court from the Empress Dowager and her son. For instance, the war in the northern borders was not going well. General Tang Peiyi, the Great General of the Western Pacification, had rushed to the northern borders with forced marches. In the initial battle, he was gravely wounded due to fatigue and carelessness. Fortunately, Fan Changyu arrived in time with reinforcements, and the situation in the north had stabilized. However, the heavy burden of defending against foreign enemies had suddenly fallen entirely on Fan Changyu’s shoulders.
Another piece of news was that the Regent’s methods were becoming increasingly cruel and malicious. Regarding the various military supplies for the northern borders, civil and military officials didn’t dare to make the slightest mistake, fearing the Regent would use it against them.
There was also news about what new lessons the Imperial Tutor had taught Qi Yu, and what new national policies he had devised…
Although there was only a bit of news about that person, Qi Shu felt inexplicably comforted.
The Regent would make time to see Chang Ning in the Chongwen Hall every half month. Usually, Yu Qianqian would have her maid send Chang Ning over, but on this day, Yu Qianqian’s maid was suffering from an old ailment and couldn’t get out of bed due to back pain.
Qi Shu had been playing with Chang Ning quite often recently, so she offered to take Chang Ning over.
Before they knew it, winter had once again descended upon the imperial city.
While waiting for Chang Ning outside the hall, a cold wind blew past, and Qi Shu felt the chill to her bones.
Clutching the brass twisted hand warmer in her hands, she was about to take a walk nearby when she saw Gong Sun Yin, dressed in white, walking up the white jade steps with several officials, seemingly heading to Chongwen Hall for a political discussion.
Seeing her, they all bowed and said, “Greetings to the Grand Princess.”
As the affairs of the inner palace did not concern those of the court, Qi Shu merely nodded in response.
Gong Sun Yin, however, remained standing and said to his colleagues, “Gentlemen, please wait for me in the side hall for a moment.”
The courtiers’ expressions varied, but they complied and went to the side hall first.
Qi Shu held the hand warmer, and despite the severe cold of early winter, her palms suddenly broke out in sweat.
Gong Sun Yin’s gaze towards her was extremely gentle and calm. He seemed to still be ill, his complexion was not good, and he had become much thinner, but he had gained a sense of steadiness. “May I have a word with the Princess?” he asked.
The two walked slowly in the small garden outside Chongwen Hall. Gong Sun Yin said, “I heard that the Princess and General Shen’s happy event is approaching?”
Qi Shu’s hand tightened on the hand warmer. She stopped in her tracks, her beautiful eyes cold, and asked, “Did the Imperial Tutor specially call me out to offer congratulations in advance?”
Gong Sun Yin looked at her steadily for a moment. That handsome and gentle face clearly showed signs of sadness. He said, “If it’s true, I should indeed congratulate the Princess. But I have some words I want to say to the Princess.”
He stepped forward to continue walking. After a moment’s hesitation, Qi Shu followed.
Today’s wind was from the southwest. Gong Sun Yin, not yet recovered from his serious illness, couldn’t help but cough lowly when he occasionally inhaled a breath of cold air. “A hundred years ago, the Gong Sun family was once at its peak. The Empress of Emperor Chengzu and the Empress of Emperor Xuande were both daughters of the Gong Sun family. But in the end, they grew too prominent. A hundred years ago, the fate of the Gong Sun family was even worse than that of the Qi family seventeen years ago. Dragon robes were found in the Eastern Palace, and Prince Shaoyang was demoted to a commoner. Two generations of empresses from the Gong Sun family committed suicide in the palace… The main branch of the Gong Sun family was entirely confiscated and exiled. Even the plaque of the ‘Imperial Library’ at Luyan Academy was almost taken back by the royal family… In the end, it was discovered to be a false accusation by a prince.”
Gong Sun Yin smiled bitterly at this point: “How could there be such a perfect frame-up in this world? It was merely that the emperor on the dragon throne at that time could no longer tolerate the Gong Sun family. The branch of the Gong Sun family that guarded Luyan Academy barely survived for a hundred years, setting the first rule for the clan members as ‘Do not enter official service.'”
Qi Shu was stunned.
Gong Sun Yin looked at her and slowly said, “The first day you came to the academy, I could tell you were a girl; when you played that game of chess with me in the Imperial Library, I realized you were also the one in the rain pavilion at Guangling Temple.”
The corner of his lips curved up, his eyes showing some of the complexity of time passed: “I admired that girl, only to later learn she was the current dynasty’s princess.”
The question she had asked years ago in the Imperial Library of Luyan Academy finally got an answer today, but Qi Shu only felt a lump in her throat.
Gong Sun Yin still looked at her with a faint smile, but in the thin sunlight, that smile also gained a few traces of brokenness: “I will never enter official service in this life, how could I dare to mislead her?”
Qi Shu’s eyes had already turned red, and her breathing slightly trembling. She stared at him: “Why are you telling me all this now?”
The cold wind ruffled Gong Sun Yin’s snow-white robes. He stood there like a slender, strong pine: “After helping Jiu Heng overthrow Wei Yan and the Li family, I returned to Hejian and had a long talk with my grandfather through the night. I finally persuaded him to change the clan rules and allow clan members to enter official service. But to avoid repeating past mistakes, when His Majesty’s power grows in the future, it will be time for me to resign.”
“The year the Princess returned to the capital, I took the imperial examination and became the third-ranked scholar to enter the palace. After seeing the majestic palace where the Princess lived, I never dared to ask if the Princess would be willing to travel the rivers and mountains with me, to live in seclusion. Today, I want to boldly ask, when I resign from office and return to my hometown, would the Princess be willing to be a pair of free spirits with me?”
He smiled again: “The Gong Sun family has accumulated some wealth over the past hundred years, it won’t make the Princess suffer. It’s just that Hejian can’t compare to the prosperity of the capital…”
In the past, his smile was always elegant with a hint of fox-like calculation, but at this moment it seemed like a fragile mask, barely covering the broken emotions underneath.
Qi Shu coldly raised her eyes: “What if I say I’m not willing?”
Gong Sun Yin’s smile froze slightly at the corners of his mouth. In the end, he only bowed with difficulty and said: “I have spoken out of turn.”
Qi Shu didn’t respond to him anymore, hurriedly walking back with her hand warmer.
Gong Sun Yin stood in place, feeling a chill in his heart, covering his mouth as he couldn’t stop coughing lowly.
“Gong Sun Blockhead!”
Someone called him in a coquettish voice from behind.
Gong Sun Yin turned back with a pale face, only to see Qi Shu’s face already unable to hold back a smile, saying somewhat petulantly: “This Grand Princess wants your family’s library of ten thousand books as a betrothal gift!”
Gong Sun Yin was first stunned, then slowly smiled and responded: “Alright.”
…
Chang Ning and Qi Yu, who had just finished meeting their brother-in-law, were hiding behind a fake mountain. Seeing this scene, Chang Ning quietly asked Qi Yu: “Is Uncle Gong Sun going to marry the Princess?”
Qi Yu nodded, his small face slightly solemn, pursing his lips and saying: “When I come to power in the future, I won’t move against the Regent and Mr. Gong Sun.”
He said unhappily: “Only incompetent emperors are suspicious of their subjects.”
To make it easier to peek, Chang Ning was squatting at the edge of the fake mountain, with Qi Yu standing behind her.
She looked up and asked him: “Then can you make me a princess in the future?”
Qi Yu looked down at her: “You want to be a princess?”
Chang Ning nodded with full expectation: “Yes! Like Aunt Shu, it’s so impressive! The consort has to offer his family fortune as a betrothal gift!”
Qi Yu frowned and said: “This entire world belongs to me, no one has more family fortune than me. Why don’t you be my empress instead?”
Chang Ning made an “eh” sound, widening her black round eyes: “Then are you going to give me this palace as a betrothal gift?”
Qi Yu said: “It’s the empire.”
Chang Ning didn’t quite understand: “What’s the empire?”
Qi Yu said: “From where your sister is fighting, to this palace, to the territories further south, they all belong to me. If you become my empress, they will belong to you too.”
Chang Ning tried to imagine how big that area would be, counting on her fingers for a long time before saying with a shocked face: “It would take Xuan Xuan several days to fly across?”
Qi Yu nodded.
Chang Ning finally reluctantly said: “Alright then, to prevent you from going back on your word, let’s make a pinky promise.”
“Pinky promise, hang yourself, a hundred years, no changes allowed! Whoever lies is a puppy!”
This year’s New Year’s Eve, Chang Ning spent in the palace with Yu Qianqian and her son, and Madam Zhao. After her brother-in-law had properly arranged all matters in the capital, he handed everything over to Gong Sun Yin and a group of trusted officials to manage. He then took half a month off and rushed to the northern border on horseback to find her sister.
The following autumn, the Grand Princess married the Imperial Tutor.
After the new year, the Huaihua Great General returned triumphantly from guarding the border. Throughout the year, she had repelled more than twenty large and small attacks from the Northern Xue. On the northern border, after the “Xie” banner, another banner of “Huaihua” was erected, which made the Northern Xue people change color at the mere mention of it. The court, because she was once a resident of Qingping County, enfeoffed her as the Marquis of Qingping.
In the same year, the young emperor, just twelve years old, began to rule personally. Xie Zheng resigned from his position as Regent and returned to the northern border with his wife, Marquis of Qingping Fan Changyu, to guard the frontier.
On the day the couple left the capital, the citizens of the city spontaneously came out to see them off, just as they had done on their wedding day years ago.
The young emperor also went out of the city in his imperial carriage to bid them farewell. Chang Ning, who had grown much taller in these few years, waved to him from the carriage.
When Qi Yu came forward to hand over the farewell gift from the Empress Dowager to Chang Ning, he lightly hooked his little finger with hers and said after looking at her silently for a while: “Remember our promise.”
Chang Ning held the package he had handed over without speaking, her cheeks slowly turning red as she avoided his gaze.
After Fan Changyu had said goodbye to Qi Shu, who had also come out of the city to see them off, she rode her horse back to the carriage. The young emperor then looked at her and the stern man behind her, “I wish Aunt Changyu and Uncle a safe journey.”
Fan Changyu smiled and said: “Thank you for Your Majesty’s kind words.”
Xie Zheng also nodded slightly: “The four seas are now peaceful. Within the realm, Your Majesty can do whatever you wish. There are many good ministers in the court like Gong Sun, Shen Shen, He Xiuyun, Lu Bai, and others. Your Majesty should consult with them on all matters. My wife and I will guard the northern border for Your Majesty.”
The young emperor bowed solemnly to this martial marquis who had controlled the court for several years and then completely handed over power to him: “Uncle and Aunt’s great kindness, Yu’er will remember in his heart. Yu’er will be a good emperor, so as not to let down Uncle and Mr. Gong Sun’s teachings.”
Xie Zheng didn’t say anything more, only patting the young emperor’s still-thin shoulders.
As the large army set out northward, Fan Changyu rode her horse alongside the carriage, looking at her younger sister who had grown into a young lady leaning out of the carriage window, and asked with a smile: “What did His Majesty say to Ning’er?”
Chang Ning looked at her elder sister with smiling eyes: “It’s a secret.”
Fan Changyu smiled faintly and didn’t ask further, spurring her horse to catch up with Xie Zheng who was riding ahead.
As the sun set in the west and the fragrant grass swayed gently, the two rode side by side. The Eastern Sea Eagle soaring in the sky now had a mottled white falcon as a companion.
Fan Changyu asked the person beside her: “Where shall we go first when we return to the northern border?”
“Yanzhou.”
She raised an eyebrow: “Why?”
The man lightly pulled on the reins, the taut muscles of his forearm visible under his arrow sleeves. His handsome face, though cold and stern, had been attracting frequent glances from passersby out of the city.
Only when looking at the woman beside him did his eyes show a trace of tenderness: “To take you to see the sunrise on Mount Yan.”
Fan Changyu then smiled: “And then go hunting in Huizhou hunting grounds?”
Xie Zheng gave a soft “Mm” in response.
That was what he had once promised her.
In the slanting sunlight, after the two had ridden their horses away from the main army for a distance, the female marquis on horseback pulled her husband’s collar and raised her head to kiss him.
Birds chirped, and flowers bloomed everywhere in the wilderness. It was the best spring scene of the year.
On that autumn day in the 16th year of Yongping, they had once lost each other among the mountain of reed flowers.
In the spring of the 4th year of Yongxing, they returned to the north together, and from then on, they were never separated again.
👏👏👏 thank you for translating! What a ride!